I pity anyone playing Sonic Frontiers on Nintendo Switch

sonic frontiers in Change it is quite an experience. On more powerful hardware (PC, PS5, Series X), Blue Blur’s latest release is a perfectly nice-looking game. It has problems, but it is not ugly. You wouldn’t walk past with raised eyebrows, open mouth, looking like Sonic’s pants had fallen to his ankles. it’s just penalty fee. On Switch, Sonic’s pants haven’t just fallen off; they have been torn apart and randomly thrown on the hedgehog. This is the same core experience, but it’s so stripped down that even Tiger Woods in his prime would have a hard time making a birdie.

To be fair to Sonic Frontiers on Switch, the stage levels are decent, though far from ideal in terms of frame rate. These rollercoaster-style races are comparable to the other console versions in that “I didn’t bother putting my goggles on.” It is noticeable that it is a little harder, but it happens. Where things start to fall apart, sadly, is in the open world areas. My word, these areas are unpleasant for the eyes, and no amount of squinting can save you.

Here is a screenshot. I did not deliberately bring this up. I just played the game and this is what I faced:

Here’s another:

I’ve seen a lot of people hype up the Switch version of Sonic Frontiers as a surprisingly good looking version of a game that’s also on PS5/Series X. Honestly, I’m pretty baffled by this. Maybe there’s an element to that where you develop feelings for your captor. It’s sometimes felt like Sonic fans have been held hostage by infuriatingly mediocre Sonic games that would all be beige plates at a disappointing kids’ party (with a little spilled food coloring), so maybe this is the explanation. . Or maybe people are just eager to enjoy what they paid good money for.

Or maybe people have lower standards than I do, although I said earlier that I think most modern games look great. I attribute it to Sonic the Hedgehog syndrome: where you think something bad is good, actually.

I fully understand that many people who are (poor) Sonic fans have no choice but to play the game on Switch. I’m by no means directing this tirade at consumers, but I do wonder what the line is for bringing games to the Switch, a handheld so far behind now that I’m constantly amazed that it runs current games. And people think that it is Xbox Series S that is holding back the development of the game!

However, the fact that a game runs on older hardware shouldn’t be a selling point. When game visuals are so compromised that it’s a distraction to the game, maybe that game shouldn’t have been offered to users on that system.

I’m sure it’ll be a few moments before someone jumps into the comments or messages me on the confusing blue brand platform to say something like, “I played it on Switch, got all the emeralds, it was fast and it’s brilliant.” I’m happy for you. As someone who really appreciates the visual side of video games, I just don’t want to play a game that looks like it’s being played through the world’s first emulation tool, before it works properly.

This has been a bit grumpy, but born out of frustration. The Switch is home to some great games, and it’s no surprise that those games are, by and large, titles developed with hardware limitations front and center. This article is likely to fall on deaf ears, but expect better. If you can, don’t buy Sonic Frontiers on Switch.